Herman Munster sings “Dem Bones” about Dr. Frankenstein
“Back with Dr. Frankenstein is where my story starts…”
On classic 1960s sitcom The Munsters, Herman Munster (a suburbanized riff on Frankenstein’s Monster) regularly gained some kind of notoriety. Sometimes he would try things like standup comedy, being a stage magician, or playing at sports.
In “Will Success Spoil Herman Munster?” (episode 2.12), Herman sings an old folk song on a borrowed tape recorder and manages to score a hit on the radio…
The video playlist below includes the clip of Herman singing the song and playing the guitar, plus a longer segment of the episode to enjoy more context.
Clips from The Munsters episode “Will Success Spoil Herman Munster?”
The old song “Dem Bones” (which is sometimes given other titles) was written by author and songwriter James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938) and his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson (1873-1954). The original lyrics are inspired by the Bible, in particular Ezekiel 37:1-14, where the prophet Ezekiel visits the Valley of Dry Bones.
One of the most interesting things with Herman Munster’s version of the song is how Herman pivots the song around to talk about being created by Dr. Frankenstein. Of course, he wasn’t the only monster created by the doctor, which we talk about here: Is Herman Munster Really Frankenstein’s Monster? (Well…)
About The Munsters
In the pantheon of sitcom families, there are few (if any) as memorable as The Munsters. With the original sitcom airing 70 episodes on the CBS network across two seasons (1964-1966), the show featured Herman and Lily Munster (portrayed by Fred Gwynne and Yvonne De Carlo), Grandpa Dracula (Al Lewis), Eddie Munster (Butch Patrick), and Marilyn Munster (first by Beverley Owen, then Pat Priest). Despite airing only two seasons, the show has continued to delight viewers through reruns and a series of reunions, revisits, and reboots. Find out more about The Munsters here.
Want more articles about monster comedies? Click on our Monster Comedy category, with articles about funny horror books, movies, TV episodes, comic books, and more!
About Frankenstein’s Monster
Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus was written to meet a challenge to “write a ghost story” when bad weather forced her and her friends to spend their holiday indoors. The resulting book is a classic of western literature, a rousing story of terror, a Gothic romance, a tragedy—it has endured because it represents so much to so many.
In the more than 200 years since its first publication, the legend of Frankenstein has been recounted, remixed, retread, and rebooted into so many formats. The monster of Frankenstein has been adapted lots of times in books, films, television, cartoons, comics, audio dramas, stage productions, theme park attractions, and more.
Want more articles about the Universal Monsters? Click on our Universal Monsters category, with articles about related books, movies, TV shows, comic books, and more!
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